Understanding
by Tricia
Summary: Squall is sent on a mission to oversee a parade in Esthar (a rue to make him spend time with Laguna) when interesting things start happening... R&R please! Thanks!
1. Understanding

Disclaimer: I dont own FF8 or any of the characters and relating storyline, yatta yatta. I only own this story, which Im pretty sure isnt worth sueing me about *grin*  
  
Authors Note: Is this original? Hmm Im not sure. But I think I might be able to actually make it sound interesting.. (wow I have so much faith in myself!) Well with writers like Kate and Darren around I feel so small *chuckle* well anywayz read on and review! Thanks! Oh and you'll understand the title after a couple of chapters too. :P   
  
"Understanding."  
  
"Im... all alone. But... I'll be okay... I'll be okay on my own, sis."  
  
Squall trudged wearily through the piles of clothing on his floor and sat on his bed, aware of the creaking of his maltreated bones and the blood that was still seeping from the wound in his leg.  
  
How I managed this, I'll never know. Sure did make a mess of myself.   
  
He had been hired out to the goverment of Esthar on some fool idea of Cids, claiming that President Laguna was having a parade and had suspicions that some rebels were planning on rioting and disrupting the parade in any way they could, and needed an experienced fighter from SeeD to come and overlook the parade to keep the peace. And so of course Cid had assigned him to the mission, trying to allow Squall to spend "quality" time with the man who had become his father not more than two months ago.  
  
And of course everyone agreed that I should come alone. "Hey dont worry about it. You should be happy to be goin there... I heard there's some pretty hot babes in Esthar.."   
  
Although Squall hadnt really been paying attention to Irvine's remark, it was rather comical to watch Selphie punch him in the stomach and then chase him down the hallway while Irvine tried to explain that Selphie would always be his "number 1. babe next to Quistis" which had gotten a laugh out of everyone, although everyone (due to the gossiping of the group known as "Treppies") knew that Quistis was dating Siefer, although she tried to hide it from everyone, claiming that as an instructor she shouldnt show anyone her "social" side and always act accordingly around the students. Everyone had laughed at that one, too.  
  
And of course, there ended up really being rebels at the parade, and now this... Squall pointedly cast curaga on himself, then stood up and stretched slowly, rubbing his still aching leg.  
  
Man.. I cant wait until I get back to Garden...  
  
Suddenly the whole room shook, knocking Squall onto his bed. He stood up, immediately alert and grabbed his gunblade, then ran out into hallway. He had gotten halfway down the hall at a dead run before it shook again, large chunks of rock coming loose from the ceiling.  
  
What the hell is going on? A terrorist attack? Monsters?   
  
Squall thought frantically as he ran, heading towards the entrance of the palace. Reaching the lift center her found his answer. A massive monster that he had never seen before was tearing the palace apart with massive claws, ripping apart the walls and tossing them like peices of cardboard to the ground. Already one wing of the palace had been destroyed, and people ran about screaming while a troop of elite guard unloaded their guns into the monster, although it had no effect.  
  
Squall caught sight of Laguna and ran over to him, where he was loading his gun, and couldnt help but to grin to see Kiros sharpening his katana, his ceremonial battal braids trailing down his back.  
  
"What is that thing?' Squall asked as he came to a stop before his father. Laguna looked up, surprised at first, then looked relieved and pulled Squall into a hug before he could realize what was going on.  
  
"Im so glad you're allright. This thing took us all by surprise... damn thing already took down half the palace.. no ones hurt yet though." He finished loading his gun, and turned slightly to address both Squall and Kiros.  
  
"Ready to beat the crap out of this thing?" Laguna asked. Squall sighed, then nodded, and Kiros nodded solemnly. They advanced towards the creature from behind, and Laguna let loose a couple of bullets into its back to get its attention. It turned towards them and spread its wings, standing at its full height and showing its face to all.  
  
"What the..?" Squall said incredulously as recognition dawned on Laguna's face.  
  
"Griever..."  
  
  



	2. Dissapearance

Disclaimer: I dont own FFVIII or the characters/storyline. Blah Blah you know the deal. Dont sue me :D  
  
~How the hell? Greiver is dead, we destroyed him... its not supposed to be real anyway! Dammit.. I wish the gang was here..~  
  
Squall called on Quezocotl, then had to grin as Kiros slashed Griever with his katanas and Laguna let loose more bullets into the gaurdian force. He hadnt seen the two in action for a long time... and it was especially nice to see them fight without actually being in their minds at the time.   
  
Finally he let loose Quezocotl, shocking Griever with a massive bolt of lightening. He struck his father with a massive claw, and Kiros prepared to cast curaga on him, but Laguna grinned at him and shook his head, then unleashed Desperado on Griever.  
  
Griever roared in anger, then suddenly cast ultima on Squall, bringing him to his knees. Squall gripped his gunblade tighter, a look of anger on his face, and aura glowed brighter around him as he began to unleash his most powerful renzokukan skill, Lionheart. He unleashed a fury of attacks on the guardian force, and finally it slumped over on its side, seemingly destroyed.  
  
Squall stood there for a moment, panting, then slowly slumped to the ground, totally and utterly exhausted.   
  
"Squall!" Laguna cried, running to his side and kneeling in the dirt next to him. He quickly cast Curaga and helped Squall to his feet.  
  
"Thanks." He said briskly, trying not to see the concern on his fathers face as he staggered a bit. He looked over at Greiver, then shook his head angrily.  
  
"Its not dead. It shouldn't even have been alive in the first place." Squall said angrily, shaking his head in disgust and heading over to finish off the job. Just as he had raised his sword to strike the beast one last time to finish it off, Greiver raised its massive head and opened its jaws, emitting a massive blast of energy, even stronger than the blast that was Bahamut's major attack.  
  
"Squall!" Laguna screamed, and then was lost in a bath of light.  
  
It seemed forever before he could see again, and when he finally blinked his eyes into focus, he found that Griever and Squall had both dissepeared, leaving nothing but the rubble of the destroyed wing behind and Squall's gunblade, lying in the dust.  
  
"Squall...?" Laguna said, running over to where the gunblade lay. He picked it up slowly, as if afraid to find something else with the weapon. He examined it slowly, then almost grinned when he saw the guardian force engraved in the sword.   
  
~Good... no blood... but where is he?!~  
  
"Kiros, Ward, did you see anything?" He asked them quickly. Kiros looked stunned, but slowly came to himself, and shook his head slowly.  
  
"I dont know... the light.. it blinded me. Im sorry man." He said at length, shaking his head. Ward stood behind him, his face a mask of conflicting emotions.  
  
"Its okay... he... he's probably allright." Laguna said, his voice only quivering slightly. He looked around the gathered people, most of them shaking or sitting on the ground, stunned.  
  
"Come on guys. We have to get this place cleaned up. Kiros, organize the people and see whos hurt. Ward, gather the medics. We'll look for Squall as soon as we get everything back in order."   
  
He looked troubled, and didnt want to wait that long but he had responsibilities to his people and knew that he would have to start the reconstruction of the lost wing right away.  
  
~Squall.. please be allright...~  
  
Authors note: What happened to Squall? Will he be allright? Why is this story called "Understanding"? Well, hopefully you'll find out in the next chapter... :D So please review! Thanks!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Arrival

Disclaimer: I dont own FF8, the characters/storyline, or any of that kind of stuff. So dont sue me. Please? Well anyway we all know this is owned by (the magnificant) Square. :)  
  
Authors Note: Ok, someone reviewed and said that I write short chapters, so here goes...  
  
Kiros knocked softly on the door to Laguna's office, and when he recieved no reply, opened the door softly and stepped into the dimly lit room. Laguna sat at the desk, staring at the screen of the laptop on his desk. It was, Kiros realized, not switched on, and Laguna had kindof a dazed look on his face as he stared into the blank nothingness of the screen.  
  
"Laguna..?" He said quietly, his voice loud in the quiet room. Laguna looked up, startled, as if just now realizing that Kiros had entered the room. He jumped to his feet and moved forward, grabbing Kiros' arm.  
  
"Have they found him?" He asked urgently, mixed emotions of fear and hope seeping through his voice. Kiros shook his head slowly, trying to keep his face clear of emotion. He felt sorry for his long time buddy... he didnt think that Squall was dead, but just having him missing was having a bad effect on Laguna. It had been only three days, but during that time Laguna had been, in a sense, doing nothing. He sat at his desk staring off into space, obviously deep in thought, and the only time he said anything was to ask if Squall had been found and to ask Kiros to do some other chore in the rebuilding of the lost wing. It had been rather annoying, actually... yes, he was worried about the boy, but it was Laguna's job to keep the city together, not himself and Ward's.  
  
"Dont worry... we're going to find him, Laguna. Quistis, Rinoa and Zell should be arriving here at 0600 to aid you in your search." Kiros glanced back as he heard the soft click of the door and acknowledged Ward as he walked into the rooms, looking awkward in his new secretories robes. He gave Kiros what he had internally dubbed "the looks" and he turned his attention back to Laguna.  
  
"Ward says that he and I will stay behind to take care of Esthar... I think Cid is sending Irvine and Selphie to help out as well, since they have experience from running Galbadia Garden."   
Kiros went on to explain. Laguna looked up, and for the first time in days, looked alive again. He let go of Kiros' arm and picked up his gun off the rack that hung behind his desk.  
  
"Well, I guess I'd better get ready then." He said, grinning impishly as he loaded his gun. Kiros smiled, glad to see that his friend had finally gotten a hold of himself. Ward took that as his cue to leave, and did so, giving Kiros a glance that meant "I'll get the transporter ready" before leaving.  
  
"The transporter to the airport is ready." Kiros said, though Laguna had already dashed out the door before he had said three words. He grinned again, then took up the chair that Laguna had waited, then sighed, thinking of how hard it would be to run Esthar while Laguna was gone, and switched on the screen, glancing at the pile of complaints on the desk....  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"Hey, Laguna man! We finally got here!" Zell said as he jumped off of the transportation device. Quistis stepped off more gracefully and bowed slightly before giving Laguna the official SeeD salute. Rinoa followed her quietly, giving a SeeD salute as well. He remembered the time Squall had asked him to attend Rinoa's graduation Ball... it was the first time his son had ever asked him for anything, so he had gladly accepted. Thinking about Squall brought a frown to his face at this current situation, but he forced a grin onto his face.  
  
"Its good to see you all again. How have you all been?" He asked, trying to seem cortious, though his current mood could hardly allow it.  
  
"Oh, well yesterday they served hotdogs in cafeteria again and of course Zell couldnt get any.." Quistis began, trying to seem cheery. After they had all exchanged the proper courtesies, the mood turned somber, and Rinoa finally asked the question everyone had been dreaded to ask.  
  
"Do you think he's alive?" She asked, her voice sounding small and scared, staring at a spot on the ground. Quistis looked at her, her face mirroring the frightened look on Rinoa's face. Laguna choked, then looked at the ground, and Kiros took that moment to show up at the entrance of the palace.  
  
"We're not sure. We had almost destroyed Griever, and Squall went in to finish him off, but he got off a powerful light blast before Squall had a chance. It was so bright that it blinded everyone, and when it cleared, neither Squall nor Griever were anywhere to be found."  
  
Kiros explained it in a completely neutral voice, trying to keep his own mixed feelings from showing. He hated seeing Laguna like this, all choked up and clogged with emotions that he didnt know how to deal with. They were all silent for a moment, until Zell bent down and punched the ground.  
  
"Dont worry guys. We're gonna find him. He'll be fine.. he's Squall, ya know? We'll find him and be all worried and he'll just be like "..whatever" when we find him and be all non-chalant and stuff." Zell said, the words spilling from his mouth in a rush. Quistis nodded slowly, and a ghost of a smile showed on her face.  
  
"Yes, that does sound like something Squall would say..." She said ruefully, just a bit of wistful sarcasm in her voice. Rinoa looked at her and chuckled softly.  
  
"Yeah, and then he'd say 'You shouldnt have stayed and protected Garden.'" She said slowly, emitting soft laughter from everyone there, even Laguna. The mood quickly turned serious again, and they began to discuss the possible places that they might want to look for Squall .  
  
After a half hour, they still had no idea where to start looking. As Quistis had regretfully pointed out, they could search the world for years and never find a trace of Squall. Just then, Selphie and Irvine arrived, eliciting another round of greetings between the friends. When the conversation turned back to the problem of locating Squall, Selphie's eyes suddenly lit up and bounced up and down happily.  
  
"I know! Near Trabia, he's just got to be there!" She said excitedly. The whole group turned to stare at her, confused, most of them looking at her as if she had gone suddenly mad.  
  
"What do you mean?" Laguna asked, half of his voice full of disbelief, while the other half was full of hope.  
  
"Near Trabia. The big crater. You know how you cant go near it or fly over it? I know why... its from Griever's curse. Didnt you ever hear about the legend of Greiver? You remember the tribe that turns into Moomba's, right? Well its said that Griever was their god and protector, but when they started to turn to science instead of him, he got reallllly mad and made a whole bunch of earthquakes and stuff. Thats what the crater is from. And thats where a tribe village used to be... so he cursed them to live there as his slaves forever. Thats got be where Squall is!" Selphie said, her words all in a rush, then panted a little. The group looked at her strangely for a moment more, then nodded.  
  
"Well then, the Ragnarok is parked at the Airport..."   
  
Authors Note: I made up "the legend of Griever" in one of my other stories (sorry, cant remember which one) but thats basically the whole of it. See, it was long! And I promise that the next one will be alot more action and a whole lot less talk.... :P But please review! I didnt think I'd be able to write this good, so please review and tell me what you think so far! Thanks! :D  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. In the Crater...

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII, it all belongs to Square. So don't sue me, please! I'm too young to die! No, don't! Ahhh! Ok well anyway on to the story. :P  
  
The gang had boarded the Ragnorak and almost immediately set off to find Squall. After Selphie had mentioned the legend of Griever and the legendary lost town, everyone had become so excited that it would seem they were going to an amusement park, rather than looking for a friend who might possibly be dead.  
  
As usual, Selphie took the controls, with Irvine standing behind her and taking his mind off of the current bleak situation by tickling Selphie whenever he got a chance. Zell was in a small room in the back where they had helped him set up a puching bag a while back, and Rinoa and Quistis were probably in the storage room that had been converted to a bedroom, doing whatever girls do together. Probably doing their makeup, Irvine thought to himself, trying to keep himself in a cheery mood.  
  
The door slid into the wall with a slight electronic whiz and Laguna stepped through, now comfortably back into his civilians clothing, the familiar blue jacket and brown pants, his gun strapped to his belt. Selphie gave a little wave over her shoulder, and Irvine turned around and gave him a formal SeeD salute.  
  
"No need for that Irvine." Laguna said, managing a grin, though for him the current situation was the worst. His son had dissepeared before his very eyes, and Irvine could very well understand what he must be going through, considering the current state of Laguna and Squall's father-son relationship. It might as well have been father-brick wall relationship for that matter.  
  
"We've just passed Trabia. We should be there soon, if we can find it." Irvine said, glancing out the window at the ground below, skimming past. Selphie bounced slightly in her seat and balled her fists on the controls.  
  
"I know where it is Irvine! Geez! Of course I know where it is!" She said angrily, though her anger seemed small and it seemed that she'd rather be crying than yelling at someone.  
Irvine shook his head and turned back to Laguna.  
  
"Yeah, well, lets see if you can land this thing without getting us all killed." He smiled lightly at Laguna, and waved his finger around his ear and pointing at Selphie.  
  
"Irvine, why do you think Selphie is crazy?" Laguna said, a smile slowly beginning to form on his face. Selphie stiffened, then very slowly turned around while Irvine tried to hide his blushing face with his cowboy hat.   
  
"Why you egotistical, monkey eating, barf breath smelling... pig!" Laguna left the cockpit quietly, and heard only a part of Irvine's reply.  
  
"Oh come on, you know I didn't mean it..."  
  
Walking aimlessly through the narrow halls of the Ragnorak, Laguna began to think again about his son, falling into that same non-talkative state of mind that his son so often fell into.  
  
What if he didn't survive? No, don't think like that. I'll never forgive myself if... hyne, I searched for Elle for years, and during all that time I had a child of my own. Left without a mother, and all alone... so alone. What kind of a father am I? I couldn't even protect him now, so many years later.  
  
So deep into thoughts was he that he almost ran into Kiros in the hallway. He snapped out of it right before he rammed head on into his long haired friend.  
  
"Whoa, sorry man." He said, trying to force some cheery-ness into his voice. Kiros shook his head and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, as if he knew that Laguna was in anything but a cheery mood right about now.  
  
"Don't worry. We'll find him. He'll be fine. And while we're on that subject, I think we're here." He said as Laguna could feel the faint shaking as the ship settled onto the rocky terrain just within the crater.  
  
"Better go and see if we're dead or not." Laguna said, in all seriousness. They went to the cockpit together and found the rest of the group waiting, Quistis and Rinoa looking rather teary eyed, though he noticed both wore their weapons prominently, and with Zell looking as if he had just beat the crap out of his punching bag, Probably had, Laguna thought to himself with a small grin.  
  
"Did we make it?" Rinoa asked, moving to stand next to Selphie and Irvine and peering out of the viewport. The rocky terrain seemed to extend endlessly, then drop dramatically to a point, where rocky mountaintops and hills could be seen, with fog gathered at their tips. After a group collective gasp, Selphie unstrapped herself and bounced excitedly, almost bumping her head on the ceiling, despite her short height.  
  
"Wow! That's so weird. It never looks like this from above." She said, staring at the point where the ground dropped thousands of feet down.  
  
"Yeah. Freaky." Zell said, then resumed punching the air with his gloved fists.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Both Quistis and Rinoa said in unison, fire in their eyes.   
  
Irvine tipped his hat the ladies, then picked up his gun off of the floor and held it resting on his shoulder while Selphie grabbed her ninchaku from the chair and swung them around enthusiastically, almost knocking off Irvine's hat and receiving small giggles from the group.  
  
"Lets go." Laguna said, his voice grim. He knew what he might find out there, and he sure didn't want to be alone in doing it. It would be a hard day ahead, and he had very bad feeling about this...  
  
Authors Note: Like it? I tried to make it longer. Don't worry, there's gonna be a lot of action in the next one. Well, please review! And please to rant on me if I got some character portrayal wrong or something :P  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. The Lost Town...

Disclaimer: I dont own FF8, it all belongs to Square, yatta yatta, you know the deal. Sue me and I'll send you a bomb in the mail. Just kidding! :P  
  
  
The trek to the edge of the plateau had taken almost four hours, the group were worn and torn by the time they got there and decided to make camp for the night in a small clearing surrounded by trees and sparse bushes. The scene was quite funny actually; Selphie and Irvine were trying to put up some tents, which subsequently collapsed on the couple before they had been half built. Rinoa and Quistis were standing by the two tents that they had erected proudly, giggling and pointing at Irvine and Selphie while making crude remarks about the craftsmenship of the tents they had built.   
  
  
Laguna and Ward came back from the slight woods that they had trekked through earlier, arms full of branches for a fire, and laughed when they entered the clearing just in time to see another tent of Selphie's collapse on Irvine, who went down laughing.  
  
  
"Well, I guess I'll be sleeping on the ground tonight." Laguna remarked, and Selphie turned to stare angrily at him. He put his hands in the air in a gesture of innocence, but Selphie crossed her arms across her chest and stomped off into one of the successfully erected tents.  
Irvine pulled himself off the ground and watched her leave, winked at Rinoa and Quistis, then went into the tent after her. After a slight scuffle was heard from inside the tent, Irvine came running out, now hatless and with his clothes slightly ruffled and torn in a few places.  
  
  
"Whoa... definately pms." He said, throwing Rinoa and Quistis another wink. They looked at him and giggled, then went back to work hooking up the small battery powered oven they'd brought from the Ragnorok, while Laguna, Kiros and Ward set up a perimeter around the camp.   
Zell came walking into the clearing, scratching his head in confusion and looking as if he had just seen the walking dead.   
  
  
"What's wrong Zell?" Quistis asked as he came in to sit on a stump of an old tree. He looked dazed, then shook his head to clear it.  
  
  
"Have you ever heard of the ancient city of Verna?" He asked. Just then, Selphie came bouncing out of the tent, wearing Irvine's cowboy hat.  
  
  
"Yeah, its the town that used to worship Griever but got banished into the crater when they stopped worshipping him. But its just a legend." She said, glancing over to where the terrain dropped off suddenly.  
  
  
"Yeah, well thats what they said about Griever. Its real man. I went to the edge of the cliff, and that town man, its down there." Zell said, shaking his head as if he couldnt believe what he had seen. Rinoa and Quistis glanced at eachother, then shook their heads.  
  
  
"Well, lets go see!" Selphie said, bouncing up and down excitedly. Irvine took that chance to grab his hat off of her head and make a run for it.   
  
  
"Hey Laguna! We're going to the edge of the cliff, be right back!" Zell called. They left before he could answer, following Zell up a steep trail of crumbling rocks and moss towards the misty peak where the land dropped suddenly.   
  
  
"Oh man, how much higher is this thing?" Selphie asked, panting. She stopped for a moment, her hands resting on her bent knees as she caught her breath.  
  
  
"Tell me about it. Being a sorceress sure isnt helping me." Rinoa said, trying to act in good spirits, though her mind was occupied with thoughts of Squall and whether he was okay or not. She knew just as everyone else did that this little trek to the edge of the cliff was just something to keep their mind off of Squall, though they knew that Selphie was genuinely interested in seeing if the lost city of Verna really did reside deep down in the bowels of the crater.  
  
  
Selphie bounced over to Irvine and put her arm around his shoulder, suddenly happy again.  
  
  
"I'll lean on you Irvy!" She said, smiling and bating her eyelashes. He winked down at her and tipped his hat.  
  
  
"Anytime little lady." He said with a smile. He tried to ignore the snickers from Rinoa and Quistis, who had suddenly seemed to become twin sisters at the onset of the trip.  
  
  
"Right ahead guys. Man, thats so freaky." Zell called back. They jogged up the last couple of feet untill they were at the top of the cliff, and looked down through the fog.  
  
  
"Whoa..." Selphie said. Way below, the tips of what had seemed to be mountains before were now revealed to be massive trees, with pods and houses hanging from branches and hidden in niches all along the top and th trunk, spiraling down until it was hidden underneath the fog. Life could be seen vaguely walking along archways and ramps and through the opaque pods in living areas.  
  
  
"Uh guys, what if they can see us..?" Quistis asked nervously. The group edged back the tip of the cliff nervously, casting glances at the surrounding terrain.   
  
  
Buh-Boom! Buh-boom! The thumping sound could be heard coming off from the right side of the cliff, getting louder as it came closer.  
  
  
"Guys...? You all brought your weapons, right...?" Rinoa asked, her voice shaking nervously.  
Suddenly the ground began to shake, causing Zell to lose his balance and roll to he edge of the cliff, where he managed to grab onto a branch before tumbling to a rocky death below.  
  
  
"Zell!" The group called instantaneously. They rushed to the edge, and Quistis unraveled her whip, extending it down to where Zell could grab hold of it.  
  
  
"Zell, grab on!" She yelled. Loosening one hand from his death grip on the branch, he reached up and grabbed on to the end of the whip, then shakily brought his other hand up and held for dear life while they began to pull him in.  
  
  
"Pull!" Quistis yelled, while everyone grabbed onto eachother in a chain of people. Finally Zell was hoisted over the edge, and they all lay there panting for a moment until they noticed that even though the shaking had stopped, the noise hadnt, and was even closer than before, along with an enormous shadow that had fallen over them.  
  
  
"Uh-oh..." Selphie said, looking up at the enormous form that stood over them. It was Griever.  
  
  
"Time to fight guys!" Rinoa called, then rushed in and cast Ultima on Griever before the gf had a chance to attack.  
Quistis came in behind her, swinging her Save the Queen at high speed towards the underbelly of the beast.  
  
  
"Give us Squall back!" She screamed, swinging her whip again for a critical hit. Irvine backed her up, firing off bullets at high speed.  
  
  
"Hey guys! Uh guys we got company!" Selphie screamed from where she knelt next to the panting Zell. Tiny pods that looked like ships were streaming over head, and began to fire off what looked to be little plasma balls towards Griever, hitting his wings and back.  
In pain, Griever reared back and swiped at Rinoa with a massive clawed paw. She fell to the ground, clutching her torn side in agony.  
  
  
"Rinoa!" Both Irvine and Quistis said. Griever prepared to attack again, and Irvine angrily shot off his armor bullets, hitting Griever hard and tearing a whole in his side while Quistis cast curaga on Rinoa.  
  
  
"Thanks." Rinoa said, wiping dust off of her dress while standind up and preparing to attack again. She glanced at the pods above them as they came around for another pass.  
They let loose their plasma cannons, hitting Griever where a hole had already been torn into his side, widening it, and Griver screamed in unholy pain. He spread his wing and jumped into the sky, then dived back down into the crater.   
  
  
"What the hell?" Irvine asked, letting off a few more bullets into Greiver before he passed from range and into the fog below.  
  
  
"I dont know, but we're about to find out." Selphie said, pointing to a pod that was coming in for a landing just a few meters from where they stood.  
  
  
"Maybe they know where Squall is.." Rinoa said, though her voice lacked conviction and more nervousness than anything. The gathered together as the door of the pod opened and a familiar figure stepped through...  
  
  
"Squall!"  
  
  
Authors Note: Did that suck or is it just me? Well I tried my best. At least it had action, and I managed to not kill off any of the characters. Well please review! Review and I'll make the next chapter better and longer, I promise! Unless you give me bad reviews, then I'll be one of those authors who makes you wait like a year before putting out another chapter... *evil cackling laugh* hee hee :P  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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